Filing Flows › Stepan (SCL) › How it makes money
How Stepan (SCL) makes money
Stepan (SCL) made $692M of revenue in the third quarter 2026 (Q3 2026), +17% from a year earlier. Surfactants brought in $487M (70%); Polymers brought in $179M (26%); Specialty Products brought in $26.9M (4%). Of every dollar of revenue, 13¢ was left as gross profit, 4¢ was left as operating profit, 3¢ was left as net earnings.
Drawing the Sankey…
Revenue by segment, Q3 2026
| Segment | Revenue | Share | Q/Q | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surfactants | $487M | 70.3% | +0.6% | +15% |
| Polymers | $179M | 25.8% | +0.4% | +24% |
| Specialty Products | $26.9M | 3.9% | +21% | +12% |
Where each dollar of revenue goes
| Line | Q3 2026 | % of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $692M | 100.0% |
| Cost of revenue | $605M | 87.3% |
| Gross profit | $87.6M | 12.7% |
| Operating expenses | $61.6M | 8.9% |
| Operating profit | $26.0M | 3.8% |
| Income tax | $2.0M | 0.3% |
| Net earnings | $17.8M | 2.6% |
| Operating cash flow | $29.3M | 4.2% |
| Free cash flow | $8.2M | 1.2% |
Revenue, quarter by quarter
| Quarter | Revenue | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2026 | $692M | +17% |
| Q2 2026 | $684M | +15% |
| Q1 2026 | $605M | +2% |
| Q4 2025 | $554M | +5% |
| Q3 2025 | $590M | +8% |
| Q2 2025 | $595M | +7% |
| Q1 2025 | $593M | +8% |
From Stepan's 10-Q filed Nov 4, 2026 (on EDGAR).
Questions
How does Stepan make money?
Stepan (SCL) made $692M of revenue in the third quarter 2026 (Q3 2026), +17% from a year earlier. Surfactants brought in $487M (70%); Polymers brought in $179M (26%); Specialty Products brought in $26.9M (4%). Of every dollar of revenue, 13¢ was left as gross profit, 4¢ was left as operating profit, 3¢ was left as net earnings.
What is Stepan's biggest business?
Surfactants: $487M in the third quarter 2026, 70% of revenue, +15% from a year earlier.
What is Stepan's profit margin?
Net earnings were $17.8M, 2.6% of revenue, in the third quarter 2026; the operating margin was 3.8%.
Updated Nov 8, 2026. Read automatically from SEC filings and public data; errors are possible. Not investment advice.